Round 5: Top Manager Poll

[Savant]

Pep Guardiola wins Round 4

Barcelona B
Tercera Division: 2007-08

Barcelona
La Liga: 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11
Copa del Rey: 2008-09, 2011-12
Supercopa de Espana: 2009, 2010, 2011
UEFA Champions League: 2008-09, 2010-11
UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011
FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011

Bayern Munich
Bundesliga: 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16
DFB-Pokal: 2013-14, 2015-16
UEFA Super Cup: 2013
FIFA Club World Cup: 2013

Individual
Don Balon Award: 2009, 2010
Miguel Munoz Trophy: 2008-09, 2009-10
Onze d'Or Coach of the Year: 2009, 2011, 2012
World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year: 2009, 2011
World Soccer Magazine 5th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
IFFHS World's Best Club Coach: 2009, 2011
European Coach of the Year Alf Ramsey Award: 2011
European Coach of the Season: 2008-09
UEFA Team of the Year Best Coach: 2008-09, 2010-11
La Liga Coach of the Year: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
FIFA World Coach of the Year: 2011
Globe Soccer Awards Coach Career Award: 2013
Premier League Manager of the Month: February 2017

1. Carlo Ancelotti
2. Antonio Conte
3. Diego Simeone
4. Pep Guardiola

Click to read more...

 

[Fro]

i know i'm biased, but I do rate Poch in the top portion of managers...He actually coaches his players up vs some of these guys that they just buy top players and send them out...I think there's a big difference.

 

[Savant]

Going Mourinho here. Too many wins and too many stops over the last dozen years.

Adding Emery; I don't think he can be any worse than he was last year and he has all those Europa leagues

 

[cgf]

Looking at the options I'd probably go: Tuchel / Sarri / Nagelsmann, Jardim, Favre, & then Sampaoli from here.

...although if the Swiss professor gets Nice back to the football they were playing last season soon, I'd happily bump him right into that top tier that I struggle to decide between. Ditto if Jardim can continue keeping Monaco humming even if Mbappe, Fabinho & Lemar leave as well.

*Disclaimer, this may reveal a lot about how I believe football should be played in the direction it is evolving. Thus you won't see me rate Mourinho's coaching abilities; though I do love his persona; and you won't find Pochettino or Klopp too high on my rankings either.

Bielsa is a wild card for me. His football is fascinating, but it can be self-destructive and lacks the consistent effectiveness of the football of Tuchel / Sarri / Nagelsmann. I should probably bump Sampaoli ahead of Favre and stick Bielsa in right behind there.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Bielsa shouldn't be an option. In terms of player development he's one if not the best. However to get you results over a long period of time? That's not happening. Really he's a manager for the manager.s Just look at who he has influenced. He really is a gem though.

 

[les Habs]

Would be nice if the OP has a full list of who has won what round for those of us not following along. Pep at four eh?

 

[Deficient Mode]

It was between Sampaoli and Klopp for me. The two coaches whom I really like who have actually won an important title (or rather two each) as an underdog. Club success over international success was the tiebreaker for me.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Went for Zizou but I was heavily considering Samapaoli.

Add Tite.

 

[Savant]

Would be nice if the OP has a full list of who has won what round for those of us not following along. Pep at four eh?

You know you can just ask me. Don't need to be all cryptic.

 

[Evilo]

Klopp.
Add Favre.

 

[Havre]

i know i'm biased, but I do rate Poch in the top portion of managers...He actually coaches his players up vs some of these guys that they just buy top players and send them out...I think there's a big difference.

He is forced to. Can't say Mourinho didn't coach at for example Porto. I would argue first time around at Chelsea as well. Guardiola certainly coached at Barcelona etc.

His in game management is League One level. If Spurs aren't set up correctly from the first minute you know it is going to be a long match. Shown again against Burnley that even after several warnings down the left he isn't able to plug that hole - and he hasn't prepared his players to manage themselves. That is something he can improve with experience of course.

As for longer term development I agree. He is excellent. A lot of players certainly improve under him. And he is generally very good at preparing teams before games - just that when he doesn't get it right he isn't able to fix it during those 90.

No way is Pochettino top 5. Then again apparently Klopp is. I actually like Klopp, but I don't understand how anyone can say he is better than Mourinho - might as well vote Pochettino.

 

[Evilo]

Poch is probably not top 10 IMO. Never won anything. Even with Leicester in front of him.
Heck, Ranieri has a word for being ranked above Poch.

 

[Havre]

I love that "never won anything". Norway was ranked 2nd on the FIFA rankings (not that those are perfect in any way), but I guess the coach isn't necessarily that good because they never won anything?

Rehhagel won more than Conte as a national team coach.

Pochettino has never managed a team which you can realistically expect to win things on a regular basis. Leicester is classic example of a black swan.

 

[Evilo]

What we have here is a list of top 10 coaches candidates. Some have won WC. Some have won Euros or Copas. Some have won CLs. Some have won mutiple leagues and Cups. Some have at least reached CL finals.

Poch has failed to win anything. And let's not pretend he couldn't win at least one cup. Who said regular basis? I said ONCE. Not even a decent showing in Europe either. Do we have to believe he has less means than Leverkusen too? Yet he failed against them. Same against Monaco. And when he reached EL? He failed again.

 

[Savant]

Winning is definitely important. Definitely my top tie breaker.

 

[Havre]

My post isn't mainly about Pochettino. It seems we kind of agree on him. It is how you evaluate a manager. You voted Klopp?

 

[Evilo]

I did vote Klopp.
Evaluate is a mix of everything I guess : success, efficiency (regardless of strength of team), adaptation to different football leagues/types, type of football played (attractive or not), does he bring something new, does he have authority on the players, do they respect him, etc...
Sometimes I like to think : when you watch a team play, can you name its coach just thanks to the football played on the pitch?

That's why I didn't vote ZZ even though nobody has ever had as much success in so few time (Cups aren't everything).
That's also why I rate Simeone higher than Klopp (success does matter still).
Poch is a good coach IMO. Lots of ideas and sometimes easy on the eye. But he has to prove himself by winning something. His failures in Europe are also a big make on his resume. His team has the ability to at least reach the knockout stage of the CL (of course given the draw, it's going to be hard this year).

 

[Havre]

Fair enough. Don't get Klopp over Mourinho though.

I much prefer Klopp as his teams are much more fun to watch, but in terms of being the better manager I just can't rate him above the Mourinho.

 

[phisherman]

Fair enough. Don't get Klopp over Mourinho though.

I much prefer Klopp as his teams are much more fun to watch, but in terms of being the better manager I just can't rate him above the Mourinho.

When Mourinho's team is bad they're BAD. If he was able to maintain consistency he would be one of the best.

 

[Evilo]

Just last year. United's roster was better than Liverpool's. One reached top 4, the other didn't, even breaking the transfer record in the process.

 

[Savant]

Closed

 

[cgf]

What we have here is a list of top 10 coaches candidates. Some have won WC. Some have won Euros or Copas. Some have won CLs. Some have won mutiple leagues and Cups. Some have at least reached CL finals.

Poch has failed to win anything. And let's not pretend he couldn't win at least one cup. Who said regular basis? I said ONCE. Not even a decent showing in Europe either. Do we have to believe he has less means than Leverkusen too? Yet he failed against them. Same against Monaco. And when he reached EL? He failed again.

Are we voting for who is most accomplished/who has had the most fruitful career? Or are we voting for who is the best coach today, if we had to pick one of these cats to take over our favorite clubs? I would assume the latter, in which case it is very important to compare what has been won by these coaches to the talent they have had on hand and what realistic expectations were.

Like I wouldn't use the fact that Favre hasn't won anything since leaving the Swiss league to down grade him; I would use his refusal to integrate the aggressive advanced-pressing systems that he watched take over german football. Instead continuing to defend deeply & compactly, while focusing his energy on the possession structure. Or his refusal to take a high visibility job since his stint with Hertha fell apart, because of his need to be out of the limelight.

I still love him as a coach, but if I were to critique him it would be on the actual coaching that he does; not on the things that he doesn't have on his resume that others do.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Yea, I'm confused on how people are voting. If it's based on accomplishments then some need to be higher. If it's based on actual coaching others need to be higher. Seems to me like everyone is voting based on their own criteria making this poll erratic.

 

[Evilo]

I said already, it's a mix of everything. Past acomplishments are clearly in play here.
Would you say Falcao is better than Messi or Ronaldo because he has 7 goals in 4 games?

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

I said already, it's a mix of everything. Past acomplishments are clearly in play here.
Would you say Falcao is better than Messi or Ronaldo because he has 7 goals in 4 games?

That is one extreme way of looking at it. No one is going to claim one is better off such a small sample.